Janelle says ‘goodbye’ to ‘Idol’ competition

Friday

Apr 19, 2013 at 5:30 PMApr 22, 2013 at 6:09 PM

Oliver Springs native Janelle Arthur said goodbye to the “American Idol” competition Thursday night, but she’ll be touring this summer with the “American Idol Tour” — which includes a stop in Knoxville.

by Donna Smith/Staff

Oliver Springs native Janelle Arthur said goodbye to the “American Idol” competition Thursday night, but she’ll be touring this summer with the “American Idol Tour” — which includes a stop in Knoxville.

The 23-year-old received the fewest votes last week. “Idol” judges have the ability to “save” a contestant who receives the fewest votes, but only one time per season and all four judges have to be in agreement. The judges reportedly split 2-2 on saving Janelle.

Judge Keith Urban tweeted to Janelle after the show, “I fought for ya.”

“American Idol” tweeted a combination of quotes made by judge Randy Jackson on the show, “This has been the toughest debate. There are 2 for and 2 not for....We love, love, love you.”

TV Guide reported that Dolly Parton sent Janelle a note complimenting her performance Tuesday night of Dolly’s song “Dumb Blonde,” and telling her not to feel “a bit bad” that Urban didn’t “feel” the performance.

“For her Save Me song, Janelle opted to revisit her own arrangement of ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On,’ her strongest song in the competition from Motown Week,” TV Guide reported. “And even though she didn't have her guitar with her this time, she still gave a knock-out performance. But it wasn't enough, and the judges couldn't come to a unanimous decision to use the save, so Janelle was sent home.”

On the “American Idol” website, officials stated, “We said goodbye to country cutie Janelle Arthur at the end of this week's results show and boy was it hard to say farewell to the charming singer. Lucky for us we got to see Janelle perform one last time on the ‘Idol’ stage ... Janelle will surely be missed. ...”

This is the third time Janelle has competed on “American Idol” and being in the Top Five has been her highest level on the show.

Over the weekend, Janelle was flying to New York City for TV appearances. She will appear:

• On “LIVE with Kelly and Michael” on WVLT-TV Channel 8 at 9 a.m. today (Monday, April 22);

• The Today show, which begins at 7 a.m. Tuesday, on WBIR-TV Channel 10; and

• “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” which begins airing Friday on WBIR-TV at 11:30 p.m.

Season 12 finalists, including Janelle, will perform favorite moments from the season on May 16, and later embark on the “American Idol Live!” tour. The tour, will get under way on June 29 in St. Louis, Mo., and hit Knoxville’s Thompson-Boling Arena on Aug. 6.